A MAN has been recaptured in northern New South Wales after he escaped from the Villawood Detention Centre six months ago. Christophes Michel Munster, 33, was arrested on Sunday in the Byron Bay area for alleged drug possession and lewd acts.
The Belgian national was taken to a local station where cross checks revealed he had escaped from the detention centre in Sydney's south-west last November, a police spokesman said.
Police discovered he had breached Australian migration laws to enter the country, and he was sent to the high-security unit at Villawood in October.
A month later, Mr Munster was discovered missing during a roll call.
Police said at the time he was fluent in French and German and had a tattoo of a Chinese symbol on the left side of his neck.
Munster was remanded in custody when he appeared in Lismore Local Court on Monday and will appear at Parramatta Local Court to face the charge of escaping immigration detention on May 16.